When the Tucson Toros began their first season in the Golden Baseball League this summer, they also introduced a new team in the radio booth.
Culling from their colorful backgrounds, "Katfish" Kris Kelly, a longtime disc jockey, and Oscar Suarez, a player agent, broadcast home games on 1450-AM.
Kelly calls the play-by-play and Suarez provides color commentary.
Meet the voices of the independent team:
"Katfish" Kris Kelly
• Age: 59
• The name: His real name is Clayton Cox, but he has gone by Katfish since 1974, when co-workers gave him the nickname for his impressive mustache that closely resembled the facial hair of pitcher Jim "Catfish" Hunter. He worked for several stations with call letters beginning with K's, so Kelly stuck with the alliteration.
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• What he brings to the broadcast: Kelly grew up listening to Harry Caray in the 1960s, as well as Monte Moore and Denny Matthews. "I have a combination of lots of styles," Kelly said. "I'm a Type A personality, so I like the personality side of it rather than a play-by-play guy who goes through all the motions."
• How he got here: In his 42nd year as a disc jockey, Kelly's background includes top 40, classic rock and oldies stations. After more than 35 years in Kansas City, he moved to Tucson in 2004 and has worked for KOOL (94.5-FM) in Phoenix and KGMG (94.9-FM) in Tucson.
• Side gigs: Since 1991, Kelly has umpired high school and college games. "Being able to umpire a game seamlessly so they don't even know you're there … that's the most fun."
Oscar Suarez
• Age: 53
• What he brings to the broadcast: "Katfish has a tremendous voice, a real radio voice. I don't. I want to let people know what's going on in the game that maybe the average fan doesn't know. … You've got to let the fans know if you see a guy dropping a routine fly ball, why this is happening, when the players are out of position."
• How he got here: An agent, Suarez represents Toros catcher Luis Apodaca, reliever Jordan Muir and pitcher Cibney Bello. He has known manager Tim Johnson and pitching coach Ed Vosberg for years, and Suarez's son, Shawn, interns for the team. Suarez said he has dabbled in broadcasting since 1993, when he worked for a Telemundo show in Denver and called some Colorado Rockies games in Spanish. "It's just a hobby."
• Side gigs: Suarez said he formally represents 27 players, including Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Juan Castro, Tampa Bay Rays reliever Winston Abreu, Kansas City Royals closer Joakim Soria and Baltimore Orioles reliever Alberto Castillo. After playing amateur baseball in Puerto Rico, he earned a master's degree in accounting at the University of Denver. He has represented about 150 players. "Trying to help them fulfill their dreams," he said.